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HISTORY 2A: HISTORY OF EUROPEAN CIVILIZATION

(CCN: 24928)

Instructor: Blake Johnson                                  E-mail: bsjohnson@peralta.edu

Office Hours: Online Mondays-Fridays: 11-12 and 5-6   

**Additional/alternative online office hours will be offered as well as face-to-face meetings by appointment.**

Course Website: https://peralta.instructure.com/courses/20418

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Course Description

This 100% ONLINE course traces European history from the beginnings of human civilization to the end of the 1600s CE. This is a history spanning such major eras as the Greeks, the Romans, the rise of monotheism in Europe, feudalism, the Renaissance, European exploration, the Reformation, the Scientific Revolution, and the rise of states. Major themes will surround the social, cultural, political, and economic factors influencing the development of European peoples and the class will also follow the progression of issues surrounding religion, philosophy, and art as they influenced the development of early European civilization.

Specific emphasis will be placed on students developing historical understanding as well as critical thinking skills and practices through an examination of early history to better understand the world today and the people in it.

Course & Student Learning Objectives

1. Demonstrate the ability to interpret primary and secondary sources and to compose an evidence-based argument.
2. Analyze and evaluate the concept of “civilization” and its historical significance in world history.
3. Analyze changes in political, social, and economic organization in Early Europe and explain their historical significance.
4. Explain the historical significance of major discoveries, inventions, and scientific achievements in Early Europe.
5. Explain the historical significance in art, architecture, and literature in Early Europe.

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Required Reading

There are no book purchases required for this course—this course is meant to be a “zero cost” course.

— Weekly Online Modules (includes a free online textbook and other primary, secondary, and tertiary sources as assigned—all are free and available through the course website every week)

*OPTIONAL ALTERNATIVE READING*

Students preferring paper copies of textbooks can also follow the course using textbooks suggested by the instructor (possibly available for loan from the instructor).

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Class Expectations for a Positive Online Learning Community

• Students, and the instructor, will demonstrate respect for others (and themselves) in all their interactions, online and otherwise, and conduct themselves in an adult and responsible manner in all aspects of the course.

 

• Everyone, students and instructor, is accountable for doing their part to contribute to a positive class environment!

 

• Especially because this is an online class, any disrespectful or aggressive speech or behavior (i.e. “cyberbullying”) will not be tolerated. Anyone not respecting or properly engaging with the class will be issued a warning followed by dismissal if disrespectful or aggressive acts continue.

 

• Netiquette (from ‘Internet etiquette’): "Netiquette" refers to the standards for appropriate interaction in an online environment. Students are expected to display proper netiquette in their communications with their teacher and with other students. This includes using proper written English, being polite, by disagreeing agreeably when necessary, including your name and other necessary identifiers on any communication. If an email or discussion post ever concerns you, please notify the instructor right away in a private manner.

 

• Because this is an ONLINE course, you are expected to log into the course website on a regular basis (multiple times a week!) to review course material and to be a positive and active part of the online portion of the class.

 

• Online classes require frequent, active, and friendly interaction to create as much of a learning community as possible. If everyone does their part we will have a great class!

 

• Students are expected to engage actively in the course and to engage themselves thoughtfully and critically with the course material—active online participation is essential and respectful debates, challenging questions, and lively discussions are expected. EXPECT TO SPEND UP TO 12-15 HOURS PER WEEK ON THIS CLASS!

 

• This is a class based on developing academic skills and knowledge and an important part of that process are the assignments for the course so students are expected to honor Laney’s academic code of conduct.

 

• Laney College is dedicated to the development of the whole person, and committed to truth, excellence, and ethical values. The College strives to promote appreciation of the dignity and worth of each individual and open interaction among students, faculty and staff. Personal integrity and academic honesty are essential to building a campus of trust. Thus, honesty in all aspects of the college experience is the responsibility of each student, faculty, and staff member.

 

• By participating in the Laney community you agree to appreciate and respect the dignity and worth of each individual and that you will honor and promote a community of open interaction, personal integrity, active and intellectual engagement, and academic honesty with students, faculty and staff.

 

• The following list describes various ways in which the principles of academic honesty/integrity can be violated. This list is not exhaustive;
  • Plagiarism: The use of another’s ideas, words, or results and presenting them as one’s own. To avoid plagiarism, students are expected to use proper methods of documentation and acknowledgement according to the accepted format for the particular discipline or as required by the faculty in a course.
  • Cheating: The use or attempted use of unauthorized materials, information, notes, study aids, or other devices in any academic exercise. Cheating also includes submitting papers, research results and reports, analyses, etc. as one’s own work when they were, in fact, prepared by others.
  • Fabrication and Falsification: The invention or falsification of sources, citations, data, or results, and recording or reporting them in any academic exercise.
  • Facilitation of Dishonesty: Facilitation of dishonesty is knowingly or negligently allowing one’s work to be used by another student without prior approval of the instructor or otherwise aiding another in committing violations of academic integrity. A student who facilitates a violation of academic honesty/integrity can be considered as responsible as the student who receives the impermissible assistance, even if the facilitator does not benefit personally from the violations.
  • Academic Interference: Academic interference is deliberately impeding the academic progress of another student.
• Violations of academic honesty/integrity will be handled on a case-by-case basis and could result in additional work.

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Special Notes

STUDENT ACCOMMODATIONS: I do my best to make this ONLINE course as accessible as possible to students with disabilities that may impact any aspect of course assignments or participation. Please let me know as soon as possible about any accommodations that will improve your experience in and access to this course. You can also contact the DISABLED STUDENTS PROGRAMS & SERVICES (DSPS) in E-251 at 464-3428 for assistance.

STUDENT NEEDS: Any student who has difficulty affording groceries or accessing sufficient food to eat every day, or who lacks a safe and stable place to live, and believes this may affect their performance in the course, is urged to contact Student Services (https://laney.edu/studentservices/) for support.

Furthermore, please notify the professor if you are comfortable in doing so. This will enable him to provide any resources that he may possess.

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COURSE ACTIVITIES AND GRADES

Every week this course will have 2 parts: Part 1 will be course materials to review (reading and watching material) and Part 2 will be Activities that require you to actively and critically use your understanding of the course materials you reviewed that week, that month, or over the entire course.

There will be 3 basic types of course activities (beyond reading and watching course material):

Discussion Forums: Every week there will be a discussion forum for students and the instructor to discuss course material from that week. You'll be asked to make 2 posts of about 200 words or more (at least a full paragraph) and to respond to 2 other posts in about 150 words or more (a paragraph or longer).

Weekly Assignments: There will be 8 weekly assignments that will give you an opportunity to develop your creative- and critical-thinking skills in response to a prompt based on that week's course material. Your response for these weekly assignments will be expected to be about 250-500 words (or 1-2 pages) or more.

Monthly Assignments: Near the end of February (2/24) and March (3/30) there will be a longer month assignment, 2 total, assigned that asks you to present a paper, project, or something else of your choice that either uses course material we've studied that month or engages in outside research, not required unless stated in the assignment, related to the course material and demonstrates your creative- and critical-thinking skills. The monthly assignments will be expected to be the equivalent of about 1000-2000 words (4-8 pages) or more.

NOTE: You will have flexibility in the topics and formats of the monthly assignments! 

"Deadlines:" While this course is based off of weekly review of course material and submission of activities, there are no set "deadlines" after which completed activities won't be accepted. (You will always be able to post in any forum and "late" assignments will always be accepted.) But do note that the course assignments and discussion will average about 4-5 pages of writing (or the equivalent) a week throughout the course. So if you fall behind you might find yourself having to make up a lot of work! (If you do start falling behind please do contact the instructor or respond to emails/messages from the instructor expressing concern-- sooner rather than later to ensure the best outcome for yourself in the course.

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GRADES

NOTE: YOUR GRADE IS NOT A REFLECTION OF WHO YOU ARE, YOUR INTELLIGENCE, OR EVEN YOUR LEVEL OF EFFORT IN THE COURSE; YOUR GRADE IS AN INDICATION OF YOUR LEARNING AND PERFORMANCE IN THE CLASS.

Because I understand grades are important to students, if you want to know what to expect in terms of grades, students who earned the following grades in past courses would generally have their performance described as:

F: Students who earn an “F” rarely, if ever, engaged with the course material and did few if any of the activities (and usually did not complete the course itself).

D: Students who earn a “D” likely did not engage very much with the course material and did not submit most of the course activities (and possibly did not complete the course itself).

C (Passing): Students who earn a “C” likely engaged with most of the course and submitted most of the course assignment; they probably demonstrated developing skills throughout the course.

B: Students who earn a “B” likely engaged to some degree with all of the course material and submitted all, or almost all, course activities; they demonstrated generally proficient or improving skills in the course.

A: Students who earn an “A” were highly engaged with all course material and completed all, or almost all, course assignments; they demonstrated continuing improvement and/or consistent mastery of academic skills.

During the semester you will get weekly feedback regarding your activities but there will not be a percentage, letter grade, or point total as part of that feedback.

The only actual “grade” you will be assigned in this course is the final grade that you and the instructor will collaborate in deciding together at the end of the semester based upon an assessment of your level of engagement, quality of submitted activities, and the level of skill development you demonstrate in the course.

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COURSE SCHEDULE (January 21^st—March 31^st)

NOTE: Modules should be completed BEFORE the end of the week they are assigned so we can discuss and apply the material during that week and all FORUMS and ACTIVITIES should be submitted at the end of the week they are assigned (yes, they can be submitted late…sigh).

PART 1. THE GREEKS AND THE ROMANS

BIG THEMES

• What Makes a “Civilization?”
• The Greeks and Their Legacies
• The Romans and Their Legacies
• What Is “Western Civilization?”
• Legacies of “Western Civilization”

 

WEEK 1: INTRODUCTIONS AND ANCIENT EUROPE (JANUARY 21-JANUARY 27)

—COMPLETE THE WELCOME AND WEEK 1 MODULE AND ACTIVITIES

☐ STARTUP ACTIVITIES

☐ WEEK 1 DISCUSSION FORUM

☐ WEEK 1 ASSIGNMENT

 

WEEK 2: GREEK CIVILIZATION, c. 1000 BCE-c. 400 BCE (JANUARY 28-FEBRUARY 3)

—COMPLETE WEEK 2 MODULE AND ACTIVITIES

☐ WEEK 2 DISCUSSION FORUM

☐ WEEK 2 ASSIGNMENT

 

WEEK 3: THE HELLENISTIC WORLD, c. 400 BCE-c. 150 BCE (FEBRUARY 4-FEBRUARY 10)

—COMPLETE WEEK 3 MODULE AND ACTIVITIES

☐ WEEK 3 DISCUSSION FORUM

☐ WEEK 3 ASSIGNMENT

 

WEEK 4: THE ROMAN REPUBLIC, c. 509 BCE-c. 30 BCE (FEBRUARY 11-FEBRUARY 17)

—COMPLETE WEEK 4 MODULE AND ACTIVITIES

☐ WEEK 4 DISCUSSION FORUM

☐ WEEK 4 ASSIGNMENT

 

WEEK 5: THE ROMAN EMPIRE, c. 30 BCE- c. 284 CE (FEBRUARY 18-FEBRUARY 24)

—COMPLETE WEEK 5 MODULE AND ACTIVITIES

☐ WEEK 5 DISCUSSION FORUM

☐ MONTH 1 ASSIGNMENT

  

PART 2. THE EMERGENCE OF EUROPE

BIG THEMES

• Europe and the Afroeurasian World
• Cultural and Intellectual Development and Change in Europe
• Religious, Social, Political, and Economic Change in Europe
• Europe and the Atlantic World
• The Development of European States

 

WEEK 6: LATE ANTIQUITY AND EARLY MEDIEVAL EUROPE, c. 284-c. 900 (FEBRUARY 25-MARCH 3):

—COMPLETE WEEK 6 MODULE AND ACTIVITIES

☐ WEEK 6 DISCUSSION FORUM

☐ WEEK 6 ASSIGNMENT

 

WEEK 7: REMAKING EUROPE—THE MEDIEVAL ERA, 900-1300 (MARCH 4- MARCH 10)

—COMPLETE WEEK 7 MODULE AND ACTIVITIES

☐ WEEK 7 DISCUSSION FORUM

☐ WEEK 7 ASSIGNMENT

 

WEEK 8: CRISIS AND RENAISSANCE, c. 1300- c. 1500 (MARCH 11-MARCH 17)

—COMPLETE WEEK 8 MODULE AND ACTIVITIES

☐ WEEK 8 DISCUSSION

☐ WEEK 8 ASSIGNMENT

 

WEEK 9: REFORMATION, c. 1500-c. 1600 (MARCH 18-MARCH 24)

—COMPLETE WEEK 9 MODULE AND ACTIVITIES

☐ WEEK 9 DISCUSSION FORUM

☐ WEEK 9 ASSIGNMENT

 

WEEK 10: MAKING MODERN EUROPE, c. 1450-c. 1660 (MARCH 25- MARCH 31)

—COMPLETE WEEK 10 MODULE AND ACTIVITIES

☐ WEEK 10 DISCUSSION FORUM

☐ MONTH 2 ASSIGNMENT

☐ FINAL COURSE SELF-EVALUATION ASSIGNMENT DUE MARCH 31